Flag of Portland in the late 1950s. In December 1957, the Lang Syne Society, composed of “senior citizens of Portland who have been engaged in its businesses, industries and professions for 30 years or more”, launched a contest among the local high schools for a city flag design. The society felt that Portland, one of the only large cities without a flag, needed a municipal flag. Among 51 designs, the prize of $200 went to the winner, Philip Schaffer of Franklin High School, at the 2 April 1958 meeting when the flag was introduced to the city council by city commissioner Ormond R. Bean. Although the flag was not adopted officially, the Lang Syne Society did have a flag made and presented it to Mayor Terry Shrunk on January 1, 1959. It hung in the council chambers until 1970. The flag has a medium blue field, with proportions of 3:5. At the hoist, about one-sixth of the field’s length, is a vertical gold stripe on which 1851 (the year of the city’s incorporation) runs downward vertically in large black numerals. Centered on the remaining blue portion of the field is a circular figure depicting the city’s pioneer beginnings, although it is not Portland’s official seal. The circle is bordered by a green ring edged on both sides by a narrow yellow line. Centered over the top portion is Portland, in black, clockwise. On the lower portion, beginning about at 8 o’clock and ending at about 4 o’clock, appears Rose Festival City, also in black (several other cities were also known as “The City of Roses” at the time, so “Festival” was added as a distinction). On either side of the ring, centered are two roses, yellow over red, with stems and leaves. The central portion of the circle shows a snow-capped mountain scene with evergreen trees, and in the center foreground is a covered wagon and a pioneer cabin. The diameter of the circle is about one-third of the length of the entire field.